


A New Life To Live

by DixonGrimess, walkinGGrimes



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Multi, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1244890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DixonGrimess/pseuds/DixonGrimess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkinGGrimes/pseuds/walkinGGrimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world has been taken over by the undead. Lacy and Susan have been fending for themselves for a while, but what happens when they run into another survivor? Alliances form, love blossoms, the death toll rises, and the walkers just keep coming. But the walking dead aren't the only ones they have to watch out for. Fight the dead, fear the living.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some chapters are just fill-ins to progress to more exciting events, keep that in mind for slower chapters.  
> Please give us notes, comments, and suggestions!

It had been almost two months since the outbreak had started. Families and relationships had been torn apart; literally. Weeks ago, every television and radio station had been saying the same thing: "Find shelter, stock up on supplies, and stay indoors; help is on the way." But help never came. After a while people were getting frantic, running low on food and water. All over the world humans were or making a run for it, only to be met face-to-face with the walking dead.

Rick Grimes was feeling hopeless. He hadn't seen a living person since he had left Morgan and Duane, a father and son that had helped him when he was in need, nearly two weeks earlier. He was making his way through a small suburban town on the outskirts of Atlanta in search of food when he spotted two young women. He watched as they stealthily snuck up behind two lonesome walkers in front of the local bank along the main road. One with an axe, the other with a steel baseball bat. They took the walkers out with ease, letting the bodies fall to the pavement with a dull thud. Rick jogged toward the pair, relieved to find some of the living. The girls spun around and raised their weapons when they heard faint footsteps behind them. They shared confused glances and lowered their weapons slightly, seeing the police uniform that the stranger adorned, staying on guard as the man approached.

"Are you infected?" one asked, tightening her grip on her axe.

"No, no. I'm fine. I haven't been bit." Rick panted while keeping some distance. The two girls let out a sigh of relief and completely lowered their weapons—no longer feeling threatened. "The name's Rick Grimes." He introduced himself while reaching a hand out to shake.

"I'm Lacy, and this is Susan." The girl said, switching the bat to her opposite hand while nodding towards her best friend." Rick shook Lacy's hand and analyzed her features. She had long, wavy red hair that was tied back into a messy ponytail, with beautiful dark green eyes. She had many freckles and a round, sweet face which gave her a look of innocence, but he was met with a serious gaze that told him she was anything but.

"Nice to meet you Rick." Susan said shyly while reaching out to shake his hand as well. Once Rick got a closer look at her, his mouth unintentionally dropped open. He quickly caught himself and shut it closed.

"It's nice to meet you too, Susan." Rick said while meeting her hand with his own and giving it a firm shake. He stared into her brown eyes that perfectly matched her light brown hair, which flowed past her shoulders. She also had a gentle face, but he didn't see the same hard look in Susan's eyes as he did in Lacy's, and for that he was grateful.

"Are you alone?" Susan asked curiously, a hint of concern in her voice. The two girls had been by themselves for the better part of a month and they knew how hard it could be.

"Matter of fact I am. I heard Atlanta was safe so I've been making my way up there. I stopped here to get some supplies when I saw the pair of you." He explained, nodding his head towards a car parked on a side street nearby.

"Haven't you heard? Atlanta's gone. Everyone showed up when they heard it was safe but when they got there, all hell broke loose. It's a graveyard and there ain't nothing left for you there." Lacy pointed out. She didn't want to give the man false hope. She adjusted the straps of the bag that was slung on her back and looked towards the setting sun before glancing impatiently to her friend.

"Look, we can talk about this later. It's getting dark and we can't stay exposed like this. We need to head back. Are you coming with us, Rick? We wouldn't mind having you around." Offered Susan, an inviting expression on her face. She didn't know Rick but she felt a sense of security with him, a need to trust him. She could tell that Lacy didn't feel as comfortable with him as she did, but that's how Lacy was with everyone-even before the end of the world. Susan would find a great guy who would act like a real gentleman and Lacy would point out all his flaws. She didn't do it to be rude or to cause trouble; she was just always blunt with Susan. Lacy just wasn't interested in those types of people. She seemed to prefer the more rugged men; the men who didn't do very well in school but could tie a knot in ten different ways or hunt a deer with ease. She liked a man who lived by his own rules, one that didn't have all the drama that she didn't care for. And Rick didn't seem like that kind of man. But that didn't bother Susan one bit.

"That's a very gracious offer and I appreciate it. I'd love to join the both of you, if Lacy doesn't mind of course. I have guns and ammo from my station that I would be more than willing to share with the two of you."

"Do whatever you'd like, just stay out of my way. I'll take a shotgun if you've got one. Don't slow us down." Lacy replied quickly before walking off in the direction of his car. "You coming or what?" Susan gave Rick an apologetic look before they made their way to the vehicle. It was a long drive back to the small bungalow that the girls had taken over. The ride was quiet; they had the windows down and the wind blowing on their faces, forgetting all their worries, if only just for a minute.

Once arriving at the place Lacy and Susan had come to call "home", Susan gave Rick a short tour of the house while Lacy began cooking a meal that consisted of canned peas, carrots, corn, and some left-over raccoon meat from the night before. It was satisfying and surprisingly good. After dinner, the three of them sat together in the living room, surrounded by blankets and candles that were found laying around. Rick gazed around the house and noticed that the girls had a real good set-up. The windows and back door were very well boarded up, and they seemed to have plenty of food, water and other useful supplies to last them a while. During the night, they would always push a tall dresser in front of the front door to make the house even more secure. Rick was impressed and definitely felt fortunate for finding these two young ladies. He leaned back against the couch and put his arms behind his head. Rick was blessed to be reunited with real humans again and sent a large smile toward Susan when he realized she'd been watching him.

Three weeks had passed since Rick had officially joined the duo. During that time, Lacy and Susan had found out that Rick was married and had a young son named Carl. He had explained to them that he was in a coma after him and his partner/best friend, Shane Walsh, had been called into a car chase. He'd been shot by a hidden passenger within the vehicle and hadn't woken up until after the undead had taken over the world. He was taken in by a man and his son, Morgan and Duane, who saved him from an attack. He learned what had happened and how to defend himself against the walkers. After spending only a couple of days with them, Rick departed and began heading toward Atlanta in search of his wife and son—sending his best wishes to the kind, generous man and his hopeful son. Rick had traveled by himself for quite a while before he finally came in contact with Susan and Lacy.

He was very much enjoying the time spent with his new friends and continued to grow feelings for Susan day by day. Susan helped him think less and less of his wife and had him feeling happy and whole once again. The feelings were mutual with Susan—for as cliché as she knew it sounded, she had never felt the same way with a man before. She was picky when it came to choosing boyfriends, but Rick was filling a large, empty space that had been building up inside of her ever since hell found its way to earth—which she was glad of.

Over time, Rick seldom thought of his wife. He accepted the fact that his family was in a better place now and decided he would move on. His relationship with Susan had developed substantially. While the three of them had been staying in the little bungalow on the outskirts of Atlanta, Rick and Susan had made love to each other on countless occasions. Lacy was aware of their relationship, but showed no sign of jealousy and kept her distance when the two were having a moment. Lacy would often busy herself by going on long walks and hunting nearby for meat to share with the other two. She loved getting out of the house to clear her mind and to spend some time alone.

Two more weeks had passed and the three of them knew that they're supplies were almost coming to an end. The walkers had been few and far between when they had first come to the bungalow, easily taken care of. But the more time they spent there, the more walkers started showing up. Atlanta must have been a lost cause if the walkers had run out of food and were leaving the city, which meant it would soon be too risky to stay where they came to love the home that they'd adopted, but knew it was time for them to pack up and begin searching for a new place to live, to find more supplies and more game to hunt somewhere else. They packed their bags into the car and headed out, leaving the house behind. They began their journey to find someplace new while trying to stay under the walkers' radar, squatting in abandoned houses along the way.

"I'm starving and I'm extremely tired. Can we please take a rest for the night?" complained Susan while huffing and puffing behind Lacy and Rick.

"Yeah, sure. Let's find a place to make camp for the night in the forest over there." Lacy said while pointed toward a dark collection of trees just south of where they stood. Susan and Rick nodded, and began following Lacy through the forest, weapons at the ready.

That night, after finding a comfortable looking place to rest, they built a small fire that was small enough that it couldn't be easily spotted by any stray walkers. They had a solid meal; Lacy had caught a coyote in a trap she had made earlier in the day along with some canned beans they had found while looting. They talked casually about themselves as they ate, learning even more about each other.

Rick learned that Lacy was nineteen years old and had recently graduated high school with Susan. Lacy was one of those girls that didn't like asking for help; when she needed something done she did it herself, and if she didn't know how, she'd learn. She was stubborn, anti-social and preferred to be alone. She had lived in a small town a few hours away from where they were. Lacy had lost her parents in a car accident three years before, so she lived with her three older brothers. They taught her everything she knew, from hunting to fixing cars. She had been separated from her brothers shortly after the world went to shit and had been on her own for a while before finding Susan. Susan and Lacy had grown up as next door neighbours and had gone to school together, they were inseparable. It was a shock to find each other and they had stuck together ever since.

Susan's background was a little different. Though she and Lacy were best friends, they were almost complete opposites. Susan was extremely social and hated the thought of being alone and often relied heavily on the help of others. She tried hard and was successful in school; she had been accepted to Harvard University the summer after her high school graduation. If the apocalypse never occurred, that's exactly where she'd be right now.

As Rick and Susan settled down, preparing for a couple of hours of shut-eye, all that could be heard was the rustling of leaves being tossed around by a light breeze and the faint howl of a coyote. The fire they had made had burned down to coals and Lacy perched close by, taking the first watch. She didn't like to put her guard down, taking the first watch every night, and waking first in the morning to hunt. Her brothers had taught her to stay alert and only sleep when it was necessary, so that's exactly what she did. They had taken her camping all the time when she was a child and she had spent more time outdoors than in. It's where she preferred to be, outside and on her own.

Susan slowly began to doze off, all she could picture was the night her worst nightmare had become reality. Susan and her family had gone out for dinner for her father's 52nd birthday at an expensive restaurant where they had their first encounter with the undead. The dinner was going well until an elder man walked into the restaurant, his eyes sunken and his walk careless. A waiter approached the man, trying to help him to a seat. That's when the man grabbed hold of the waiter and took a huge chunk out of his neck. The old man left the restaurant with the waiter's flesh still clenched between his teeth. Everyone screamed in horror as the paramedics arrived and witnessed the assumed dead waiter rise up off the floor, his eyes a different colour and his breathing ragged. As they fled to the safety of their home, the radio in the car announced a worldwide alert: the dead were walking. Once arriving at their house, they boarded up the windows and collected all the food, water, and other necessities available. Her father took Susan aside; she being the oldest, leaving her with the most responsibility. He gave her a .22 calibre handgun, which she still carries around with her today. Her father told her to keep herself safe and to trust her instinct, knowing very well that he and his wife wouldn't always be there to protect her and her younger brother and sister.

Susan was awoken a couple of hours later by Lacy shaking her shoulders. "Susan, wake up!" Lacy hissed.

"Huh, what? What's wrong?" Susan mumbled slowly.

"There's someone over there. Look! You see it?" Lacy said as Rick was waking up having heard all of the commotion. Susan sat up and adjusted her eyes, searching deep into the darkness of the woods.

"Lace, it's probably just a stray. Wait until it gets closer and go put it out of its misery quietly so we don't attract any others." Susan replied patiently.

"It ain't a walker. I'm gonna go check it out. Stay here." She whispered. She knew it wasn't a walker and she wasn't going to let whoever it was go without investigating. She grabbed her shotgun, which had become a part of her arm, and put a finger to her lips before she disappeared into the darkness. Lacy had trained herself to move silently; her feet hitting the ground without a sound. She followed the figure for a few minutes and when she was close enough she slowed her pace, staying behind the trees for protection. But she stepped on a twig. The man spun around, his weapon at the ready.

"Put your weapon down." Lacy demanded calmly. They watched each other carefully but didn't move. In the pale moonlight Lacy could faintly make out the stranger in front of her. The man was tall and had dark hair, he wore a sleeveless shirt and a leather vest. She tried to see his expression but it was too dark.

"You bit?" He asked, ignoring her instruction. He could see her red hair and the shotgun pointed at his face and not much else; she was partly hidden behind a tree. He shifted awkwardly as he waited for her response.

"No, of course not. Where'd you come from? I haven't seen other survivors in weeks, are you alone?" Lacy questioned. They had covered a lot of distance and hadn't seen a single survivor in over three weeks. She was nervous and excited, making sure she kept her gun steady and her voice firm. Maybe there was hope.

"I ain't alone. I got a group not too far from here. I was huntin'. You scared my rabbit away! What's your name anyway?"

"The name's Lacy. There are three of us set up just over there; I can give you some coyote to make up for the rabbit. You won't find much else this time of night." She lowered her gun so that it faced the ground and waited for his response. He slung his crossbow over his shoulder and looked at her wearily.

"Yeah, alright. Name's Daryl. Daryl Dixon."

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some chapters are just fill-ins to progress to more exciting events, keep that in mind for slower chapters.  
> Please give us notes, comments, and suggestions!

Lacy led the man to where Susan and Rick waited. Rick had stoked the coals of the fire and added some wood he had found, lighting the area around them. When they approached, Rick and Susan stood quickly and kept a hand on their guns, a look of panic in their eyes. Lacy raised a hand to calm them and looked back at Daryl to let him know it was safe. The pair lowered their weapons and resumed what they were doing. Lacy laid her shotgun down next to her as she sat on the ground, the safety on. She grabbed some coyote meat and handed it to Daryl, a sweet but wary look on her face. He hadn't been able to see her face clearly before and was taken aback by her features. She had intense green eyes that pierced him, a look of authority and power deep within them. He cleared his throat and took a seat next to her.

"Thanks." He said quietly, eating the meat faster than he wanted to; he hadn't eaten in days. Lacy handed him another portion of meat without uttering a word; there was plenty to go around. As he ate he studied her face more. Daryl noticed small scars and freckles scattered over her pale cheeks. There were more scars on her arms, the old wounds shadowed slightly by the fire. The sleeves of her plaid shirt rolled up; she had nothing to hide. He unconsciously touched a scar of his own, a large line running down his forearm. He silently looked over the other two, trying to sense if they were a threat. The girl glanced over at him and gave a small smile.

"So what's your name?" Susan asked, trying to make him feel more comfortable.

"Daryl. Yours?" He nodded towards both her and Rick. He had finished his coyote meat and proceeded to lick his fingers as he waited for them to respond. He never had table manners and wasn't going to pick them up now.

"I'm Susan, and this is Rick. Where'd you come from anyways?" She wondered. Inside, she was praying that there was a refuge somewhere. She shifted her position to get comfortable.

"Not too far up the road, by the old quarry. Got a group, 'bout twenty or so people. I don't know how the hell y'all survived this long on your own."

Lacy scoffed, "Barely; been living in abandoned houses until recently. Too many walkers coming out of the city so we packed up. Sticking to the trees, staying off the highway. We've been starving. This coyote was pure luck; the damn biters have been snatching up all the game. We're still alive at least."

"Y'all should come back with me to my camp. I ain't usually kind to no strangers but y'all seem alright. We got food and water, for now at least." Offered Daryl. It was true; he wasn't kind to strangers, even before the outbreak. But there was something different about the trio.

"Are you serious? That would be great! We'll set off in the morning!" Susan exclaimed happily. She could finally get proper rest; maybe even get to clean up. It had been so long since she had felt clean and she smiled at the possibility as she lay down. Rick simply nodded his thanks to Daryl and smothered the coals of the fire. He grabbed his gun and got in position to keep watch. Breathing a sigh of exhaustion, Lacy settled down for some rest, her gun close at hand. The night was quiet, a relief from the days' stresses.

In the morning they set off, following Daryl back to his camp. The camp was just three miles away, making good time as they went. Along the way they were stopped by a few strays, but nothing they couldn't handle. Daryl had shown Lacy how to navigate using the position of the sun, something her brothers hadn't taught her.

They made it to the camp by noon, the sun high in the sky. Cars were parked everywhere, tents set up all around. People were scattered all over the camp; some cooking, some doing laundry, others repairing equipment. They approached warily, not knowing the reception they would get. Daryl jogged ahead and spoke to a dark-haired man, one with authority it seemed. The man walked over with a smile; until he saw Rick. The man covered his mouth with his hand and stared wide-eyed.

"R-R-Rick? Is that really you?" He asked, his hands trembling.

"Shane?!" Rick exclaimed, a broad smile forming on his face as he closed the distance between them and enveloped his best friend in a tight embrace. Shane gripped his partner fiercely, not believing what was happening. Through tears of joy, Rick lifted his eyes to see the group gathering around them. He released Shane and wiped at his eyes hastily, composing himself slightly before facing the strangers.

That's when he saw them. A small boy had pushed his way to the front of the crowd along with a tall woman. "DAD?!" The boy screamed, running towards Rick as quick as his legs could take him. Rick dropped to his knees in disbelief, fresh tears spilling onto his cheeks. The boy crashed into him and he cradled the child, kissing his forehead over and over. Before he knew it, a second pair of arms were around him. His wife, Lori, grabbed his face and met his lips with a feverish urgency. Rick had never felt such joy in his life. He found his family.

That night was a joyous occasion. The group at the quarry welcomed Susan, Lacy, and Rick warmly and made sure they were comfortable. Lacy and Susan were given a tent to share, and they were given extra clothes while their own were being washed. Rick had joined Lori and Carl in their tent, and the smile hadn't left his lips. Susan made quick friends with some of the other campers and kept herself busy with whatever they needed help with, a fake smile painted on her face. She tried not to think about Rick, but it was getting more difficult as time went on. Lacy kept her distance, speaking when spoken too and hunting on her own. She had no interest in a large group. They were exposed, vulnerable.

Ever since Rick had found his wife and son, he had barely gotten the chance to converse with Susan. He knew what he had to do, but was having such a hard time on deciding what words were the most suitable. As the newcomers sat around a campfire along with the original members of the group, they spoke about their pasts and how hard it was adjusting to a new way of living. Rick sat across from Susan and continued to stare at her with an upsetting look in his eyes. He gave Lori a quick kiss on the cheek, stood up and signaled Susan to follow him away from the fire for some privacy. They walked a few hundred metres away from everyone else in total silence. Once Rick decided they were far enough, he stopped and whirled around to face Susan.

"Listen," He began while releasing a heavy sigh. "The last thing I ever expected was to be reunited with my wife and son again. But you need to know that I love them very much and I…" he paused mid-sentence and checked his surroundings quickly. "We can't be doing the things that we used to do anymore. And we can't mention any of it to anyone else, okay? It would just bring upon unwanted attention and we don't need that right now." Rick stared intently into Susan's eyes, which were showing obvious signs of pain. It hurt him to say these words and to see Susan on the verge of tears, because he couldn't hide the fact that he'd fallen in love all over again after thinking he'd lost his wife.

Susan swallowed hard, and was at a total loss of words when she tried to respond to Rick breaking up with her. Over time, their relationship had grown so much. She'd expected to join this new group and hoped to continue their strong relationship for a long time. But, Lori and Carl were there, and everything the two had shared dissolved into thin air. She stared into the darkness of the forest behind Rick before finally looking back at him. "It's fine Rick. I understand the position you're in, and I'm not about to interfere with your relationship with Lori." With that, she wiped a lone tear off of her cheek and turned back toward the tent she'd been given before Rick could say anything else.

Once stepping inside the tent, she released all of the tears she'd been holding in and sat down on her blankets. While weeping quietly to herself, she thought back on all the stages of love they had gone through: the first day they'd met, their first kiss, all of the fun memories they'd had even though they'd been caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and finally, the first time they had ever made love. She felt ridiculous for being so upset about what had happened, because she knew that there were far worse things that she should be worrying about. But, it was her first time ever experiencing true love, and her first time ever feeling heart break. She did however know that she had to get over it as soon as possible.

Shane had seen the exchange, and watched as Susan stepped into her tent with tears in her eyes. He hated to see the new girl upset. She was so beautiful and she didn't deserve to cry. He stood up and made his way to her tent. He didn't know what he was going to say to her, but he knew he had to comfort her somehow. He unzipped the door and looked inside.

"Hey there. Sorry to bother you… just thought I should properly introduce myself. The name's Shane Walsh. It's a pleasure to meet you." He stuck out his hand and watched as Susan quizzically shook his hand.

"Okay, well I'm Susan." She replied quietly. There was an awkward moment of silence before Shane finally spoke.

"I uh... I saw you and Rick talkin' just before, and then I saw you come back over here all upset. I know it ain't my business, but I was just wondering if I could do anything for you." Shane asked politely.

"I'm fine thanks. Don't worry about it." Susan said, annoyed that this complete stranger was trying to pry into her personal life.

"It's my job to keep everyone here safe and happy, so I will worry about it. Whatever it is, don't dwell on it." He said sweetly, smiling at her.

"Yeah, right. I'm going to get some rest now. Nice meeting you." Susan quickly replied, not in the mood for any sort of conversation. Shane got the hint and opened the door of the tent.

"Have a good night. And I'll see ya in the morning." He smiled and headed back toward the campfire. Susan stayed awake for a couple of minutes replaying everything that had just happened. She shook her head and lay down on the flat pillow she'd been given—hoping to get at couple hours of sleep.

The two brothers, Daryl and Merle, remained awake after the fire had been put out and nearly everyone had gone to sleep, keeping watch for any possible herds. Merle's eyelids were feeling heavy and he was about to call it a night on top of Dale's RV when he saw something shuffling toward the camp out of the corner of his eye. He immediately jumped up and signaled Daryl to quietly take the walker out without making a commotion. Daryl stood directly in front of the stray walker and jabbed his knife inside its skull. The walker cried out incoherently, shattering the silence of the moonlight hours—awakening nearby survivors. Rick quickly shot out of his tent to see what had happened. Daryl reassured him that it was nothing of concern, the odd walker passed through every now and then. As soon as Daryl had finished his sentence, they heard a horrifying scream coming from Carol; a small woman with short grey hair who had just came into view, running from her tent frantically. They rushed over toward the tent and were shocked to see that Carol's husband, Ed Peletier, was being mauled to death by what used to be two children. Merle climbed down from the roof of the RV, by which time everyone had woken up and were panicking when no one would answer their questions.

Lacy and Susan had shared a tent and jumped to their feet once they'd heard Carol's cry for help. With weapons in hand, they sprinted toward the scene and mentally prepared themselves for the worst. All of the survivors were now surrounding the tent, watching Rick and Daryl take out the children's bodies. Carol and her daughter Sophia continued to weep outside of the tent, refusing to see what was left of Ed. Andrea and Amy, two blonde sisters from Florida, consoled them and reassured them that they would get through the tragedy.

Susan had regretted stepping inside of the tent after seeing how mangled Ed's body was. She gagged at the sight of what had been left of him. She and Lacy quickly stepped outside of the tent only to be bombarded with questions from everyone. Lacy had gotten everyone's attention and calmly explained to the situation. Susan felt the sudden need to puke and had gone around the tent to do so. She got down on her knees as her body rejected everything that she had eaten while her mind kept replaying images of what she'd just seen. Since the apocalypse had begun, she'd never seen anything as gruesome. Once she had finally finished vomiting, she stood up once again while wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She noticed another walker creeping closer to her and reached into her pocket for her .22 caliber. As she got closer to the rotten man in a construction uniform, her mouth dropped open as she saw dozens of more walkers staggering up the hill toward the camp. Tripping over her feet, she ran back to where everyone else was crowded.

"WALKERS! A SHIT TON OF THEM COMING UP THE HILL!" Susan shouted out of breath while pointing to where she'd just come from. Everyone's attention went toward Susan as they stared at her with wide eyes and mouths agape.

"Fuck." Mumbled Merle.

"Okay quickly. Everyone find safe places to hide. Go Pile up in the RV, hide under the vehicles, or get in a tree if you can. Share any weapons you may have and use them only if necessary." Rick instructed as everyone had began to scatter.

"Ya'll ready to kill some motherfuckers?" Daryl said smoothly while aiming his crossbow at the first oncoming walker, shooting an arrow right through its eye.

"Damn straight." Shane answered coolly while raising his shotgun and taking out another one.

As the walkers began piling around the campground, Andrea had spotted a shovel close by and had dove for it just as a walker lunged for her, quickly thrusting the spade through the middle of its head. Shane and Lacy went for the more practical approach and had been shooting them down left and right, not wanting to risk anything. Susan on the other hand, was flying through the crowd, blade in hand, sharply and skillfully stabbing them in the skull as she went—not wanting to waste any of the few bullets she had left. She had learned a few tricks from Rick, who was watching her back and shooting any that were on her blind side. They may not be together anymore, but he still wanted to protect her. The entire time, the other survivors hid quietly and held their breath while the walkers made their way past them.

Dale, an older man who had lost his wife early in the apocalypse, had been with Andrea and Amy for a while, rescuing them from a dire situation. He'd protected them the best he could and was very useful to the entire group because of his high knowledge of mechanical things. He, Amy, Carol and Sophia were all keeping extremely quiet inside of the RV while the horde was passing through. Hearing the constant bullets being fired and groans from the dead had made them all anxious. After the sound of guns being shot had settled down, Amy got up from where she was and peeked out of the screen door to check on her sister. From the looks of things, it appeared that the walkers were all gone and they were safe. Peering out into the darkness, Amy could see that the fighters had their weapons down, and were giving each other looks of relief that they had cleared the horde without anyone else getting hurt. She eagerly burst through the door and made her way toward Andrea and the others, wanting to congratulate them. Dale jumped up; wanting to make sure that Amy's path was safe. As he got to the door, he was appalled to see a lonesome walker appear from behind a vehicle and come up behind her.

"AMY! WATCH OUT!" Dale screamed as he grabbed a plank of wood outside of the RV and rushed toward her. Amy turned around with a questioned expression on her face. The geek reached out its arms and grabbed a hold of Amy's neck. Amy yelped and tried to push it off, but it was too late. It sunk its black, rotting teeth inside of Amy's neck and ripped out a clean piece of flesh. An arrow came bursting through the dead man's head—causing it to fall to the ground a second too late. Andrea and Dale ran as fast as they could toward Amy, who was now holding her neck in agony while kneeling on the cold, hard soil.

"NO!" cried Andrea, whose face was wet with tears. She collapsed to her knees and held her little sister in her arms while Amy stared up into Andrea's eyes.

"I… I'm sorry." Amy whispered, her blood soaking both their shirts.

"Shh... it's okay, Amy. You'll be fine. You can live through this," Amy choked a laugh, blood coming out of her mouth as she did so. "I'll never let you go. You mean everything to me, sis. I love you so much. Please don't go." Andrea pleaded while the other survivors were watching, keeping their distance. Dale stood two feet in front of the two girls he loved most in what was left of the world, tears streaming down his face. He was at a loss of words, but figured it'd be best not to say anything. He wanted Andrea to have her final words with her young sister.

"I love you too." Amy replied very slowly while a lone tear crawled down her face. Her eyes began to get heavy as her heartbeat slowed. Andrea continued to hold her and tell her how much she loved her, knowing that her sister was slowly fading away. A few moments later, the quietness of the camp had been disrupted by a bullet being shot right through Amy's head. Andrea threw the gun on the ground and cried even more—still holding her deceased sister. She knew it was best to put her out of her misery, and most definitely did not want to see her come back as one of the dead. Before shooting Amy, she gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her she'd see her again someday.

A couple of hours after the catastrophe had ended, the sun began to rise, and most of the bodies had been gathered up and were ready to burn. Glenn Rhee, a young Korean man, and T-Dog, a large bald man with skin the colour of deep chocolate, had done most of the cleanup—feeling guilty about not helping out with the herd. No one spoke aloud about it, but it was very clear in their minds that where they were staying was no longer safe. It was time to pack up and move out.


End file.
